Bannock County Board of Commissioners MEDIA RELEASE September 5, 2007 For Further Information: Larry Ghan, 208-236-7211 Steve Hadley, 208-236-7211 Lin Whitworth, 208-236-7211 Kelly Hirning, 208-232-8900 Joe Lupica, 480-657-7800 The Bannock County Commissioners and Portneuf Medical Center's Administration and Governing Board Chairman have agreed to collaborate on the development of a regional cooperative option for the issues facing PMC in connection with the Frazier decision, which has limited the medical center's access to capital. They are working proactively to form a regional cooperative arrangement for our County-owned Hospital with the objective of having the Hospital remain a public entity serving the best interests of the citizens in Bannock County and surrounding areas. “We still have some legal details and financial analysis to work out but are cautiously optimistic we will have an option to present to the Portneuf Medical Center Governing Board, Citizens Panel, and public in a few weeks that will address both the County's and Portneuf Medical Center's objectives and concerns and will be the best possible outcome for the hospital and the community,” said the County Commissioners and Kelly Hirning, PMC's Governing Board Chairman, in a joint statement. Commission Chairman Larry Ghan noted, “At the last meeting of our Citizens' Panel, several Panel members and my fellow Commissioners stressed the importance of striving for a public hospital solution, even though we'll have to navigate through the Frazier decision. The discussion made it clear to me that public accountability is the heart and soul of local control. We believe this arrangement will be well received by the Citizen's Panel, the Governing Board and our community.” Commenting on this positive turn of events, Joe Lupica, President of Stroudwater Capital, said, “Public Hospitals serve many important functions in a community – they are very special. To be sure, running a hospital with public oversight of major decisions can be cumbersome, but the overall accountability to the People and their elected representatives can make it all worth the effort.” In addition, the Commission and Portneuf Medical Center jointly announced that they are drafting a process together that will allow the County and Stroudwater “to review documents required to make a sound decision on the best outcome for our community, our hospital, and our region.” Mr. Lupica commented that “Stroudwater is pleased to participate in this spirit of collaboration that will strive toward a public model and allow us to review the documents, in a timely fashion, needed to support the County's analysis.” Commissioner Ghan explained, “It is important to understand that we are both working to assure that the hospital retains the ability to protect its most sensitive business information while we conduct this vital deliberation in the public eye. This gives us all the best chance to arrive at an informed decision we can proudly present to the citizens of Bannock County.”
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